


I Left A Woman Waiting

by she_whomustnotbenamed



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Established Relationship, F/M, Hopper/Byers Family, Jopper, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 19:03:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14575587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_whomustnotbenamed/pseuds/she_whomustnotbenamed
Summary: They weren't a normal family, but they were a family, nonetheless.





	I Left A Woman Waiting

  
  
Spring 1986  
  
“I’m heading out in ten minutes, Flo. I’ve gotta get going,” Hopper said. Contrary to his declaration, he meandered slowly around the station and down towards his office. Despite being late for dinner plans, he wasn’t in a mad dash to leave.  
  
“Hopper...”  
  
His hand cut her off. “Flo, I’m late.”  
  
“Fine, but…”  
  
“I’ll be in early tomorrow. I swear.” He reached his office and then stopped in place when he spotted the three teenagers making themselves at home behind his desk.  
  
“What is this?” Eleven was sitting in his chair. Mike and Will were on either side of her. “What’d we talk about? This ain’t a playground.” His furrowed brows softened slightly when his daughter shot him a grin.  
  
“We’re looking for paper.”  
  
“To leave a note,” added Mike.  
  
Hopper studied the trio. Finding no sign of dishonesty, he shooed them away from his desk so that he could sit down. “You were supposed to be at his house after school.” He pointed towards Mike and then sank down into his chair with a groan. His limbs ached from overuse during the long day.  
  
Mike quickly jumped to Eleven’s defense. “That’s what the note was for. We’re going to Dustin’s instead.”  
  
Softly, but with excitement, Will spoke up, “his new TV is huge.”  
  
Mike held out his hands to show the size. “It’s actually a projection screen, but it’s way bigger than mine.”  
  
“Can we go?” Eleven asked.  
  
“Please?” begged Will.  
  
Completely underwhelmed by the electronic discussion, Hopper shot Will a sympathetic frown. “Buddy, you know it’s not up to me.” He knew better than to mess with the whereabouts of Joyce’s son.  
  
Will immediately began to protest. “She won’t care, if you say it’s okay. I tried to call home. She didn’t answer.”  
  
“That’s cause’ she’s probably already at the damn restaurant waiting for me.” Hopper grumbled. He tossed aside some paperwork and didn’t bother to straighten up his messy desk. “I was supposed to be home an hour ago, so I told her to meet me there.”  
  
Eleven quickly backed up Will, “you can tell her when you get there. We won’t be home late.”  
  
Home. The word still made her smile, and in turn, it made Hopper smile too. Their new home, not far from the center of town, included Will, Joyce, and on college breaks, Jonathan. They weren’t a normal family, but they were a family, nonetheless.  
  
Hopper checked his watch and groaned when he realized that ten minutes had come and gone. He didn’t have time to argue. “Dammit, alright. Fine. You guys can go.” His lanky frame jumped out of his seat. “Come on. I’ll drop you off on my way.” He had been trying to arrange a date night with Joyce for weeks, but lately, their schedules never matched. Now that they finally did match, he was late…which was just his luck.  
  
“Is tonight the night?” Eleven shrieked.  
  
Hopper winced. The sound was harsh in the small room. “What?”  
  
“The night you propose.”  
  
Hopper’s eyes grew wide. “I thought we had a rule. You weren’t gonna tell anyone, remember?”  
  
“You said don’t tell Joyce.”  
  
“I said don’t tell anyone.”  
  
“No you didn’t! So, tonight?” Her brown eyes flashed with happiness. They were already a family, but she wanted it to be official. She wanted it more than she wanted anything else.  
  
“You’re proposing to my mom?” wondered Will. His tone was laced with bewilderment, but not much else.  
  
“No, no…” Hopper fumbled over his words and ran a hand through his hair. His tone softened when he saw Will’s wistful expression. “I’m not, no.”  
  
“You have a ring,” argued Eleven.  
  
He didn’t have to be reminded that he had a ring. It had been weighing heavy on his mind for months. His mother had given him the ring before she died and up until a few months ago, it had sat in a safety deposit box collecting dust. On a whim, he had retrieved it. It just...felt right. But then, he quickly panicked. Did she even want to get married again? Did he? He didn’t know. They didn’t discuss such things. Keeping their family safe from the supernatural forces of the town around them was their main priority. Anything else…seemed superficial. Hopper glanced towards his office safe, where he the ring was hiding, and shook his head. He couldn’t focus on that now.  
  
Suddenly, Flo appeared in the doorway and interrupted the group. “Hop, we just got a call in about an accident, looks like the car hit a deer.”  
  
Hopper was already dismissing her with a shake of his head. “Send Powell. I’m late enough as it is.”  
  
His secretary raised a disapproving brow, “you usually handle the bad ones yourself.”  
  
“Flo! I can’t! Joyce is waiting.” He motioned towards the kids. “Come on, let’s go.”  
  
“It’s okay, we’ll walk,” Eleven insisted. “You can’t propose if she’s mad at you.”  
  
“You’re proposing tonight? Well, why didn’t you say that,” exclaimed Flo. “I’ll get Powell on it right away.” Excited for him, she darted away before he could correct her.  
  
Hopper shot his daughter a glare. “We’ll talk about this later,” he warned. He ushered them out of his office and followed quickly behind them. “The both of you be home by 9:30.”  
  
“10:30,” argued Eleven.  
  
The daily curfew negotiations stopped phasing him a long time ago. “10:00.”  
  
“10:15.”  
  
“10:00, or you’re both grounded.” The spring air was warm when they stepped outside, but a sudden chill ran up Hopper’s spine and made him take pause. Senses on alert, he checked out the area around them. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary or suspicious, he shook his head to rid himself of the dark thoughts. Things had been quiet lately. Almost, normal. There was nothing to worry about, but still, trusting his instincts had never failed him before. “I’m gonna drive you.” He insisted. “It’s on the way, anyway.” As they all piled into his blazer, he looked around again and the feeling of dread intensified.

***  
  
He felt slightly better once the group was safely inside Dustin’s house. His mind focused on Joyce as he sped through town. Their favorite restaurant was in a neighboring town. No one knew them there, or cared about them. It was a nice change of pace from the Hawkins gossip mill. Almost at the town limits, Hopper was forced to slow down when he saw emergency lights up ahead. “Fuck,” he muttered, when he realized that the road was completely blocked. “I can’t catch a break today.” As he got closer, he noticed two Hawkins Police cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance. Slowly, it dawned on him that he had driven right into the accident scene that had been called in.  
  
A young man from the fire department flagged him down and made him stop moving. In annoyance, Hopper rolled down the window as the man started speaking. “Can’t let you through, Chief.”  
  
“Cut the shit, kid. I’m late. And this is the only way out of town.”  
  
“It’s too dangerous. There’s gas all over the road.”  
  
Following his gaze, Hopper sighed. The fire truck was blocking his view. “Can’t I just sneak up the side there?” he pleaded. With a charming smile, he added, “tell them it’s official police business.”  
  
Not caring that he was the Chief of Police, the man shook his head. “No can do. The car might blow. Those gas tanks are faulty. Everybody knows that.”  
  
Hopper stopped paying attention after he heard the word, ‘no.’ Frustrated, he slammed his hand against the steering wheel and got out. He scanned the scene until he spotted Callahan and Powell. Powell saw him first.  
  
Moving uncharacteristically fast, the man was at his side within seconds. “Who called you? I told Flo to wait.”  
  
“What?” Hopper’s brows scrunched up in confusion. “Nobody called me. Listen, I need to get through. I’m late to meet Joyce.”  
  
Powell’s face suddenly fell and he held his hand up. “Chief…” He began, but Hopper wouldn’t let him finish.  
  
“Dammit, Powell, it can’t be that dangerous.” Powell’s hand moved to Hopper chest, to keep him in place and he shot him a confused look. “What?”  
  
Realizing that he had to be the one to tell him, and not knowing how, Powell spoke quickly before he could overthink it. “Chief, it’s uh…it’s Joyce.”  
  
“What’s Joyce?” He was still focused on getting to dinner. The accident wasn’t really on his mind. But then, he glanced around and noticed that people were staring at him, with the same look of sympathy that Powell now had. Soon, things began to click into place. Before his mind had even fully registered what was going on, he stated, ‘no.”  
  
“It looks like she hit a deer and swerved into the tree.”  
  
Hopper couldn’t hear a word of it. Blood rushed to his head as he took in the scene around him. Shaking his head, he again said, “no.” And moved so that he could have a better view. What he saw, would haunt him forever. What was left of Joyce’s green pinto was crumpled up against a large tree. The door and roof were missing and there were pieces of debris all around it.  
  
“They’re afraid the gas tank’s gonna blow, so they won’t let anyone get too close.”  
  
Bile rose up and into Hopper’s throat. He had to lean against his truck to keep himself from getting sick. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move. He could do nothing but stare blankly at Powell. Though he felt completely disassociated from the world around him, his brain eventually refocused and propelled him forward, towards the car.  
  
Again, Powell grabbed him. “She’s not in there. They took her to Mercy General.” Hopper fought him off as Callahan came over to help. Both men managed to keep him in place. “She’s in bad shape, but she’s alive.”  
  
Still unable to comprehend what was going on, he let out a strangled string of unintelligible words and then climbed back into his truck. The hospital was in the other direction and before the guys could stop him, he turned his truck around and peeled away.  
  
“You think he’s okay to drive?” Callahan questioned. Powell looked at him in disbelief and then walked away. “What? It’s a logical question.”  
  
***

  
“She’s got severe brain swelling. Dr. Andrews, our neurosurgeon, performed a procedure to relieve some of the pressure on her brain, but the next 24 hours are critical. We don’t know when she will regain consciousness. We have to see how she responds.” In the empty waiting room of the hospital, the doctor spoke, but Hopper found it hard to pay attention. His ears were clogged and his throat burned. The doctor’s words drifted in and out of his mind with little meaning. “She also broke two ribs, her right leg...and left wrist, we’ll have to do surgery on her wrist, once she’s stable.”  
  
He couldn’t stand up, so he remained seated. While his hand scrubbed his face, he looked up. “How...uh. How...long till she’s stable?”  
  
“We don’t know. It all depends on the swelling, and we won’t know the severity of the damage until she regains consciousness, I’m afraid.”  
  
Hopper’s stomach dropped as bile rose again to his throat. How could this be happening?. “When...when can I see her?”  
  
“Once they move her down to recovery you can see her.”  
  
“Okay.” The doctor’s hand grasped his shoulder. Hopper didn’t even feel it. The room began to spin, so he leaned forward on his knees and buried his head in his hands.  
  
***

  
Time lost all meaning for him as he sat by Joyce’s bedside. Hour after hour passed by and she still showed no signs of consciousness. He hated hospitals. Being there was hard. But seeing her that way, broken, fragile, clinging to life, was even harder.  
  
“Your wife’s a trooper.” The nurse’s told him, each time they came into the room. “She’ll pull through.” Hopper didn’t bother telling them that they weren’t married. He didn’t tell them anything at all.  
  
His emotional state wasn’t good, to say the least. Sometimes he would get angry. Sometimes he would get scared. But, it always came back to guilt, and it was the most self-destructive emotion to have. If he had left work on time, it wouldn’t have happened. He would have picked her up, driven her to a nice dinner, and then fallen asleep with her head cradled against his chest. Instead, he was sitting vigil by her beside, praying for a miracle. A throat cleared from the doorway, pulling him from his dark thoughts.  
  
“Chief, uh, sorry to interrupt,” Callahan said, as he cautiously stepped into the room. He kept his eyes off of Joyce, the sight of her bruised and swollen face too hard to see.  
  
Hopper spared him a quick glance before re-focusing on the bed. “Then don’t.”  
  
Callahan ignored his outburst. “Jane called in, worried.” Hopper’s eyes immediately shifted back to his. “We didn’t know what to tell her.”  
  
Realizing that he had completely forgotten about the kids, Hopper cursed under his breath and checked the time. Somehow, it was almost midnight. With Joyce’s hand in one of his, he pinched his nose with his other. “Shit.” How was he going to explain this to them? What was he going to tell him? A war waged in his mind.  
  
Sensing that his friend was on edge, Callahan took matters into his own hands. “Why don’t I go get them? I’ll break the news and then bring them here.”  
  
Hopper let out an audible breath and nodded. Swallowing hard, he said, “yeah, okay. Thanks.” It was a cowardly thing to do. He knew it, but was beyond caring.  
  
***

  
Hopper annoyed every nurse and doctor caring for Joyce when he refused to leave her side. Eventually, though, he went out into the waiting room to wait for Will and Eleven. The kids were the only thing that could pull him away from her. Unable to sit still, he paced around impatiently.  
  
He was turned away from the door when they arrived. “Dad,” called Eleven.  
  
“Jane.” Their eyes met as he turned to face her. He didn’t get a chance to say anything else before she ploughed into his body and wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t always call him dad, just as he didn’t always call her Jane, but those were the names that slipped out naturally this time.  
  
“I can’t find her. I’m sorry. I tried, but it won’t work.”  
  
Paranoid that someone was listening, he glanced around the room, but no one was there. No one…but Will, who stood stiff and uncomfortable in the doorway. As their eyes met, tears filled Will’s round eyes and Hopper felt like he had been punched in the gut. “Come here, kid,” came his quiet command as he motioned for him. To his surprise, Will came without hesitation. Eleven made room and soon all three were wrapped in a giant hug.  
  
Both teens cried, their bodies shaking against Hopper’s chest. It took every ounce of his strength not to cry himself. “She’s gonna be okay,” he told them. “It’s gonna be fine.” He wasn’t sure if he was saying it for their benefit, or his own.  
  
“Can we see her?” Will asked. He wasn’t embarrassed by the tears streaming down his cheeks. “I wanna see my mom.” He broke away from the hug and stared at Hopper with a fierce look. With Jonathan gone, Will had stepped up and into the role of her protector.  
  
“We’re not supposed to have more than one visitor at a time,” Hopper mumbled, as he scratched his chin. Then, thinking on it, he stood straight up and puffed out his chest. “I’m the Chief,” he snapped. “What can they do to me?”  
  
The group was interrupted by Karen Wheeler as she stepped into the room. Mike was trailing fast behind her. “Sorry, guys. Parking took forever.” Ignoring the fact that Hopper looked shocked by her presence, she strode towards him and gave him a short hug. “Jim, how is she? What are they saying?”  
  
Hopper ran his hand over his hair. “Not good.” He glanced at the kids and then lowered his voice. “She hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”  
  
“Oh god,” she gasped. With her hand to her lips she added, “I’m so sorry.”  
  
“Karen, what are you doing here?” He didn’t mean to be so abrupt, but his mind wasn’t capable of basic understanding.  
  
“Jane called Michael when you didn’t come home,” she explained, as if it made perfect sense. Though it was the middle of the night, she looked impeccable, as usual. “She called back once Callahan showed up.” Her forehead twisted into incredulous lines. “I wasn’t gonna send them off with that moron.”  
  
Upon hearing that Karen had driven them to the hospital, Hopper nodded and his shoulders sagged in relief. Her kindness, though unexpected, was appreciated. “Thank you…I didn’t really know what to do.”  
  
Karen dismissed his worries with a wave of her hand. “Anything you need, I’m here for you guys. They can stay at our place tonight.” She glanced towards the kids just as Will spoke up.  
  
“I’m not leaving,” he insisted.  
  
“Me either,” added Eleven. They stared at Hopper, daring him to argue. When he said nothing, they eventually looked away.  
  
Hopper shut his eyes as the room started to spin again. How was he supposed to parent while Joyce was fighting for her life? How could he go on, alone…if she didn’t recover? The dangerous thoughts invaded his mind and stayed there. Around him, conversations carried on, but he couldn’t hear anything but the sound of his own misery.  
  
Eventually, Karen nudged his shoulder with her own. “Hey, listen. I hope I didn’t overstep here, but I called Nancy. She got a hold of Jonathan and they’re flying out in the morning.” At Hopper’s crestfallen expression, she rushed to add, “Ted and I paid for the airfare. It’s the least we can do, we don’t mind. We just want them home safe.”  
  
Hopper chewed on his bottom lip. When Jonathan left for college, he had made Hopper promise to take care of his mother. It was a promise that he hadn’t been able to keep and now, Jonathan would know the kind of man he actually was. Useless. Selfish. Unfit. “Thanks, Karen.” He managed to grunt out. Jonathan would never forgive him, just as he would never forgive himself. “It means a lot.”  
  
***

  
Taking Will and Eleven in to see Joyce was a gut wrenching experience. He tried to prepare them for what they would see, but nothing could ever really prepare someone for that. Hopper was back at his place by her side while they stood as far away as they could.  
  
Understanding their shock, he gave them some time before saying, “I know it looks bad, but they’re taking good care of her.”  
  
Eleven was the first to speak, and her voice caught in her throat as she asked, “can I talk to her?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“No,” she corrected. “I mean, try to find her.”  
  
His argument was instantaneous. “It’s too dangerous.”  
  
“What if she’s trying to talk?”  
  
Hopper glanced around at the dozens of monitors and machines that she was currently hooked up to. Then, he shook his head. “No. Not here.”  
  
Normally his stubbornness would have caused a fight, but Eleven didn’t have much fight left in her. She had used it all up convincing Will that something was very wrong when they came home 15 minutes past curfew to an empty house. Instead of arguing with her father, she finally moved from her spot by the door and stood on the other side of the bed.  
  
“Can she hear us?” Will’s question was almost inaudible.  
  
Hopper answered honestly. “I don’t know.”  
  
Going silent again, Will watched as Eleven and Hopper spoke to his mother. It took him a long time to process the scene before him. Eventually, he felt comfortable enough to stand beside Eleven. “Mom? It’s me. Will.” She hadn’t given up on him during his traumatic ordeal in the upside down. He wasn’t about to give up on her. “I’m here.”  
  
Hopper’s chest burst with pride as he watched them, but he soon grew emotional again. They had been through so much. They shouldn’t have to go through this too. Eleven’s words, were his undoing.  
  
“You’re safe, mom. We’ve got you.”  
  
Tears sprung to Hopper’s eyes as he let out a strangled breath. He quickly stepped away from the bed and turned his back to them so that they wouldn’t see him cry. It wouldn’t be long before they realized that it was all his fault. He didn’t deserve to cry.  
  
***

  
It was sometime later, when a red eyed Will came to sit beside Hopper in the hallway. Hopper had been unable to compose himself, so he had left the kids with Joyce so that he could get some air. He never made it outside though. Instead, he slid down the wall of the hospital corridor as his legs gave out.  
  
“Are you okay?” asked Will. Realizing that the question was stupid, his eyes fluttered closed as he corrected, “I mean, right now.”  
  
“Yeah.” It was a lie, but he smiled, hoping to sell it.  
  
It didn’t work. Will saw right through him. As he always seemed to. “Liar.”  
  
Hopper had Sara’s blue hair tie in his hand. He fumbled it around his fingers and let out a bitter chuckle. “You caught me.”  
  
“At least we can be not okay, together.”  
  
Genuinely touched by his strength, Hopper smiled for real. “She’s never called her mom before,” he said, hoping to distract them both for a few minutes.  
  
Will glanced towards the closed hospital room door to make sure that Eleven couldn’t hear him before he said, “Yeah, she has. It’s their secret thing.”  
  
Hopper’s mouth fell open. “What?”  
  
Will shrugged. “El’s been calling her that for a long time.” They had sworn him to secrecy, and he wasn’t completely sure why, but secrets didn’t seem to matter right now. “Don’t tell her I told you. It’s their thing, you know?”  
  
The information was completely new to him. Hopper soaked it up like a dry sponge. After all these years, Joyce Byers never failed to surprise him. “I won’t.”  
  
They fell into a comfortable silence after that. The knowledge that Joyce wasn’t alone kept Hopper’s anxious limbs still. Will cleared his throat, and then suddenly, his big watery eyes were fixed on his.  
  
“What’s gonna happen to me?” Will swallowed hard and then continued, “if she...never wakes up?”  
  
Hopper’s face blanched. His tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of his mouth. It took him several seconds to reply. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Jonathan lives in New York now. Are they gonna make me live with my dad?”  
  
“What?” Hopper’s fists clenched until his nails were digging into his palms. Just the idea of that scenario made his blood boil. Sudden territorial feelings exploded through his chest. Lonnie didn’t deserve to have Will. Hopper didn’t care what biology said, Will was his, and he would be damned before he let anyone else have him. “No kid, I won’t let that happen.” His tone was a little too forceful, a little too angry. Wil looked away and Hopper immediately put his arm around him and softened his tone. “I promise.”  
  
The teen wasn’t naive. Or easily outsmarted, but he instantly believed Hopper. The man had never given him a reason not to believe in him. “Okay.”  
  
“Trust me.”  
  
Will pulled away when Hopper playfully messed up his hair. He shot Hopper a glare, but it only lasted a few seconds before he smiled in fondness. Thoughtfully, Will asked, “are you really gonna marry my mom?”  
  
Just a few hours ago, the question had him sweating bullets and panicking. Now though, Hopper didn’t even flinch. Life or death scenarios put life into focus. “I want to,” came his confident response. It was the first time he had admitted it. “I really do.”  
  
Will shyly looked down at his hands. “You should marry her.”  
  
“You think so?” He let out a self-deprecating chuckle, “you’d be stuck with me forever.”  
  
Will’s looked at him again. His eyes were watery, betraying his stoic expression. “I don’t know. It’d be cool to have a dad.”  
  
Overwhelmed with love, Hopper’s own eyes watered. Will was keeping his emotions together though, so Hopper tried to as well. “It’d be cool to have a son.” At that, Will smiled.  
  
***

  
Jonathan arrived the next day. He went right to his mother’s side with no hesitation and stayed there. An entire day passed by and still, her condition didn’t change much. On the third day, with him on one side, and Hopper on the other, Joyce was blanketed by their protective vibes. Nancy had taken Will and Eleven to get food, which left Jonathan and Hopper to brood in silence.  
  
When the weight of the unsaid threatened to suffocate him, Hopper’s pained statement broke through the silence. “I’m sorry, kid. I’m so sorry.” He had Joyce’s lifeless hand clutched in his again. He needed her warm skin and strong pulse as a constant reminder that she was still alive. She was still breathing. She was still fighting.  
  
From across the bed, Jonathan stared at him. His eyes were puffy and dark with circles and his pale features made them even more prominent. “It’s not your fault.”  
  
“It is,” Hopper confessed. “I was late. I was supposed to pick her up, but instead I told her to meet me. It wouldn’t have happened if not for me.” It was hard for him to keep looking at Jonathan. He so badly wanted to look away, but he forced his gaze to remain steady. He deserved to feel uncomfortable. He deserved whatever harsh words the young man would throw at him.  
  
Jonathan hair was shorter now, so his furrowed brow was clearly visible. He didn’t say anything at first, as his mind thought long and hard about the situation. When he did speak, his voice was raspy and low. “It might still have happened, even if you were driving.” Jonathan broke the eye contact so that he could look at his mother’s monitors. “You could both be like this right now. Then what would we do?”  
  
The idea had never crossed Hopper’s mind. It didn’t really alleviate his guilt, but the knowledge that Jonathan wasn’t angry at him gave his anxiety some relief. No one blamed him. No one, but himself. “I...I was supposed to protect her.”  
  
“You did.”  
  
“I didn’t. Not really.” With Jonathan, Hopper didn’t feel the need to constantly put on a strong front. Jonathan understood the harsh realities of the adult world. Hopper wasn’t worried about scarring him. “She might not wake up.” The rubber band holding his emotions together finally snapped and he let out a sob. “She might die, and I don’t know if I can do this without her.”  
  
Tears filled Jonathan’s eyes as he watched Hopper break down. He didn’t have any words of comfort to offer. There was no magic phrase that would make it all go away. Instead, he let his head rest on the side of the bed and shut his eyes. He and Joyce were on eye level, and when he let his eyes fall open, he was met with her big brown eyes locked on his. Instantly, he sat up. “Mom? Mom, can you hear me?”  
  
Jonathan’s words made Hopper look up and at the same time, Joyce’s hand tensed in his. He squeezed it, and she squeezed back right away. “Joyce?” Soon he was hovering over her, sweeping strands of hair away from her forehead. “Joyce?”  
  
Her eyes fluttered closed as her mouth moved. No sounds came out and then, softly, she said, “Hop.”  
  
Hopper’s face broke out into a wide grin and he brought her hand to his lips. “Yeah, I’m here.”  
  
“Mom.”  
  
“Jonathan,” she whispered, before her exhausted body drifted off to sleep.  
  
With tears dripping down his cheeks, Jonathan grinned in relief and then stood up. “I’m gonna get the doctor.”  
  
Hopper let him go. He wasn’t about to move from her side. He never thought the sound of his name could make him so happy.

  
***  
Joyce was only able to stay awake for short periods of time as her body struggled to heal from the trauma. In her alert periods, her kids filled her in on everything that she missed. And more. Over the next couple of days, she had a slew of visitors. On the rare occasion that Hopper left her side, he always made sure that someone was there with her. A week after the accident and one day after the surgery to set her broken wrist, Will and Eleven were by her side while Hopper ran an errand.  
  
“You two are acting weird. What’s going on?” Eleven and Will shared a telling look that she didn’t miss. “Where’d Hopper go?”  
  
“Nowhere, I mean, he’s around here somewhere,” Will poorly lied.  
  
Eleven nudged him with her elbow and then added, “we can’t say.”  
  
Joyce scrunched up her nose. The movement was painful, so she quickly stopped. “He’s around here somewhere, or you can’t say?”  
  
Eleven smirked and then rested her head against Joyce’s shoulder. “It’s a secret.”  
  
“We said no more secrets,” warned Joyce.  
  
Will’s eyes widened. “No, mom. It’s nothing like that. Seriously. I mean it.”  
  
“Seriously.” parroted Eleven.  
  
Joyce wasn’t all that concerned. The pain medications made her loopy and her exhaustion was overwhelming. “Okay.” With her good hand, she grabbed Will’s arm and lovingly stroked it as her eyes fluttered.  
  
When her eyes closed for good, and they were sure that she was asleep, Will got Eleven’s attention. “Did he say when he’s gonna do it?”  
  
“He said, soon.” Eleven sat up and poked her future brother in the back. “You suck at keeping secrets.”  
  
Will quickly defended himself. “I suck? You’re the one who told her there was a secret.”  
  
“Only because you were acting weird!”  
  
“Jonathan says she’s too high to remember anything anyway.” They already affectionately bickered like siblings, making it official wasn’t going to change much in that regard, but they were both eager for it anyway.  
  
Suddenly growing serious, Eleven face fell as she glanced back at Joyce. “She’ll say yes, right?”  
  
Will instantly reassured her. “Definitely.” Contemplating things for a few minutes, Will then bit his lip and asked, “he’s for sure doing it, right?”  
  
Switching roles, it was her turn to reassure him. “Yes. For sure.” Her smile was contagious. Soon, the same one was plastered across Will’s face.

***

  
A man on a mission, Hopper rushed into the station. Unfortunately, his presence didn’t go unnoticed by his secretary. “Hop! What are you doing here?” she chastised. “You’re supposed to be on family leave.”

  
Skidding to a stop in front of her desk, he held up his hands in defense. “I am, I am.”

  
Out of habit, Flo stood up, ready to snatch a cigarette out of his mouth. However, she was forced to do a double take when she realized that he wasn’t smoking. “Finally kicked the habit?”

  
Hopper shrugged. For once, he wasn’t itching for a cigarette. “Can’t really smoke in the hospital.”

  
Smiling with pride, Flo patted his chest like a mother. “Good for you, Hopper.”

  
He quickly rolled his eyes and then turned away to hide the way his lips curled into a smirk. “I’m just here to pick something up. I’ll be quick.” This time, he meant it. He didn’t linger to chat with the guys, grab coffee, or meander around. Instead, he went right to his office, shut the door, and unlocked his safe.

  
Hopper breathed a sigh of relief. The ring was still there, in a green velvet box, tucked under Eleven’s birth certificate. His heart thumped against his chest in nervous excitement as he scooped it up. Opening the box, he stole a glance at the antique diamond before tucking the box safely in his shirt pocket.

  
“Alright, I’m out of here, Flo,” he insisted, as he made his way back towards her desk. “Keep these boys in line for me.”

  
“Don’t worry about a thing here.” She shooed him away from her desk, taking note of the smile that hadn’t left his face.

  
“I owe you big time.” He was halfway to the door when she called out to him.

  
“Congratulations, Hop.”

  
Stunned, he stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. “How’d you know?”

  
Flo shot him a warm smile. “It’s written all over your face.”

  
Self-consciously, Hopper grazed his cheeks with his palm and then felt his pocket for the box. “Thanks, Flo.” He nodded in appreciation and then fled out the door. Confidently, he stepped out into the sun. He had a date to keep with his soon to be fiancée and he wouldn’t be late this time.  
  
The End.

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on a prompt sent to me via anon on my Tumblr (andwejust-ran). The prompt was "Angst: Either Joyce or Hopper gets injured." We already saw Hopper in danger in season two, so I figured that I would explore Joyce being in danger. Sorry Joyce! Poor girl has been through so much and now I went and did this. Sigh. It had to be done though. 
> 
> Angst is my passion. So if you have any angst plots that you want me to tackle, hit me up here or on my blog. I'll write anything but character death. Though, I'll make an exception for characters who are already dead. (Bob, Sara, ect.) 
> 
> I'm also on a Leonard Cohen kick. So all my fics from now on will have Cohen songs as titles. The muse wants what it wants.


End file.
